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A diphenyl prolinol TMS ether-catalyzed stereoselective reaction of 1-bromo-2-naphthols with enals has been developed. The organocatalyzed cross coupling-like reaction servers an efficient approach to sterically congested (E)-α-naphthyl enals. The formal C(sp2)-C(sp2) cross-coupling products are obtained in good yields and with excellent stereoselectivities in favor of E-isomers. A broad range of aromatic enals and 1-bromo-2-naphthols are tolerated. The synthetic strategy significantly expands the scope of the organocatalytic cross-coupling-like reactions by enabling sterically demanding 1-bromo-2-naphthols as viable substrates.

Starting from 5-methylhexanal and (S)-configured N-propargylprolinol ethers, coupling delivered N-(4-hydroxynon-2-ynyl)prolinol derivatives as mixtures of C4 diastereomers. Resolution of the epimers succeeded after introduction of an (R)-mandelic ester derivative and subsequent HPLC separation. Alternatively, suitable oxidation gave the corresponding alkynyl ketone. Midland reagent controlled diastereoselective reduction afforded a defined configured propargyl alcohol with high selectivity. LiAlH4 reduction and Mosher analyses of the allyl alcohols enabled structure elucidation. The suitably protected products are used as key intermediates in enantioselective Streptomyces γ-butyrolactone signaling molecule total syntheses.

The enantioselective Michael addition of isobutyraldehyde to nitroolefin analogs was achieved by utilizing an α,α-diphenyl-(S)-prolinol-derived chiral diamine catalyst 1b. In this protocol, catalys...

A highly Me2Zn-mediated catalytic enantioselective Reformatsky reaction of aldehydes and ketones with ethyl iodoacetate using a readily available prolinol ligand is reported. This reaction provides an efficient method for the construction of β-hydroxy esters in up to 98% yield and 95% enantiomeric excess (ee) value. A wide range of functional groups are tolerated and the practicality of this protocol is demonstrated by performing the reaction on a gram scale.

Spectroscopic characterizations of key reaction intermediates are often considered the final confirmation of a reaction mechanism. This proof‐of‐principle study showcases the application of vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectroscopy for the characterization of in situ generated reaction intermediates using the key intermediates of enamine catalysis of Jørgensen–Hayashi‐type prolinol ether catalysts as model system. By comparison of experimental and computed spectra, the enamines are shown to preferentially adopt an anti‐conformation with E‐configured C=C bond. For the parent prolinol catalyst, the structure and stereochemistry of the oxazolidine side product is determined as well. This study thus demonstrates that VCD spectra can provide insights into structural preferences of organocatalysts that utilize a covalent activation mechanism. Thereby it outlines new fields of applications for VCD spectroscopy and finally adds the technique to the toolbox of physical organic chemistry for in‐depth mechanistic studies., Before it reacts: The enamine and oxazolidine intermediates are characterized by in situ IR and VCD spectroscopy. The study demonstrates the proof‐of‐principle for such analysis of asymmetric catalysts employing a covalent substrate activation mechanism by VCD spectroscopy.Stereochemistry of the reaction intermediates of prolinol ether catalyzed reactions characterized by vibrational circular dichroism spectroscopy (Merten and Golub @MertenLab @ruhrunibochum)

In this work, we perform an in-depth experimental and computational study about the structure-directing effect of two new chiral organic quaternary ammonium dications bearing two N-methyl-prolinol units linked by a xylene spacer in para or meta relative orientation, displaying four enantiopure stereogenic centers in (S) configuration. Synthesis results show that the para-xylene derivative is an efficient structure-directing agent, promoting the crystallization of ZSM-12 (in pure-silica composition), beta zeolite (as pure-silica, or in the presence of Al or Ge), and a mixture of polymorphs C, A and B of zeolite beta (in the presence of Ge). In contrast, the meta-xylene derivative showed a much poorer structure-directing activity, yielding only amorphous materials unless Ge is present in the gel, where beta and polymorph C (together with A and B) zeolites crystallized. Molecular simulations showed that the para-xylene dication displays a cylindrical shape suitable for confining in zeolite pores, while the meta-xylene derivative has an angular shape that shifts from the typical dimensions required for 12MR zeolite channels. Despite enantio-purity of the para-xylene dication with (S,S,S,S) configuration, no enrichment in polymorph A of the zeolite beta samples obtained was observed by Transmission Electron Microscopy. With the aid of molecular simulations, the failure in transferring chirality to the zeolite is explained by the loose fit of this SDA in the large-pores of zeolite beta, and a lack of close geometrical fit with the chiral element of polymorph A, as evidenced by the very similar interaction of the cation with the two enantiomorphic space groups of polymorph A. Nevertheless, the molecular-level knowledge gained in this work can provide insights for the future design of more efficient SDAs towards the synthesis of chiral zeolites., This work has been partially financed by the Spanish State Research Agency (Agencia Española de Investigación, AEI) and the European Regional Development Fund (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, FEDER) through the Projects MAT2016-77496-R (AEI/FEDER, UE) and PID2019-107968RB-I00, and by CSIC through the Projects 201780I043 and 2019AEP074. Secretaría General Adjunta de Informática-CSIC is acknowledged for running the calculations, and BIOVIA for providing the computational software. AM acknowledges the Spanish Ministry of Science through the Ramon y Cajal program (RYC2018-024561-I), to the Natural National Science Foundation of China (NFSC-21850410448, NFSC-21835002) and to The Centre for High-resolution Electron Microscopy (CħEM), supported by SPST of ShanghaiTech University under contract No. EM02161943. C. Márquez-Álvarez is acknowledged for his help with the N2 isotherm data., We acknowledge support of the publication fee by the CSIC Open Access Publication Support Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for Research (URICI).

A novel diazoacetate monomer (1) carrying tert-butyloxycarboryl (Boc) protected D-prolinol ester was designed and synthesized successfully. Molecular weight-controlled polymerization of 1 using the complex of π-allylPdCl coordinated Wei-phos (LR) ligand gives a series of helical polycarbenes (poly-1ms) with well-defined molecular weights (Mns) and low polydispersity (Mw/Mns). Removing the protecting Boc groups on the D-prolinol ester pendants leads to the formation of helical poly-1m-As, which showed high optical activity. Furthermore, the poly-1m-As showed high catalytic ability on asymmetric Michael addition reaction (up to 76% ee and 94/6 dr). Both the enantioselectivity and diastereoselectivity of the Michael addition reaction were increased comparing to D-prolinol as catalyst. Moreover, the helical polycarbene catalyst can be easily recovered and reused at least four times without significant loss of its enantioselectivity and diastereoselectivity.

Summary p-Methyl benzaldehyde (p-MBA) is a class of key chemical intermediates of pharmaceuticals. Conventional industrial processes for p-MBA production involve the consecutive photochlorination, amination, and acid hydrolysis of petroleum-derived p-xylene, while producing vast pollutants and waste water. Herein, we report a direct, green route for selective synthesis of p-MBA from acetaldehyde using a diphenyl prolinol trimethylsilyl ether catalyst. The optimized p-MBA selectivity is up to 90% at an acetaldehyde conversion as high as 99.8%. Intermediate structure and 18O-isotope data revealed that the conversion of acetaldehyde to p-methylcyclohexadienal intermediates proceeds in an enamine-iminium intermediate mechanism. Then, controlled experiments and D-isotope results indicated that the dehydrogenation of p-methylcyclohexadienal to p-MBA and H2 is catalyzed by the same amines through an iminium intermediate. This is an example that metal-free amines catalyze the dehydrogenation (releasing H2), rather than using metals or stoichiometric oxidants., Graphical abstract, Highlights • A direct route to produce p-methyl benzaldehyde from biomass-derived acetaldehyde • Revealing the reaction kinetics and mechanism under reaction conditions • An example of an organic amine-catalyzed dehydrogenation-aromatization reaction

The five-membered pyrrolidine ring is one of the nitrogen heterocycles used widely by medicinal chemists to obtain compounds for the treatment of human diseases. The great interest in this saturated scaffold is enhanced by (1) the possibility to efficiently explore the pharmacophore space due to sp3-hybridization, (2) the contribution to the stereochemistry of the molecule, (3) and the increased three-dimensional (3D) coverage due to the non-planarity of the ring—a phenomenon called “pseudorotation”. In this review, we report bioactive molecules with target selectivity characterized by the pyrrolidine ring and its derivatives, including pyrrolizines, pyrrolidine-2-one, pyrrolidine-2,5-diones and prolinol described in the literature from 2015 to date. After a comparison of the physicochemical parameters of pyrrolidine with the parent aromatic pyrrole and cyclopentane, we investigate the influence of steric factors on biological activity, also describing the structure–activity relationship (SAR) of the studied compounds. To aid the reader’s approach to reading the manuscript, we have planned the review on the basis of the synthetic strategies used: (1) ring construction from different cyclic or acyclic precursors, reporting the synthesis and the reaction conditions, or (2) functionalization of preformed pyrrolidine rings, e.g., proline derivatives. Since one of the most significant features of the pyrrolidine ring is the stereogenicity of carbons, we highlight how the different stereoisomers and the spatial orientation of substituents can lead to a different biological profile of drug candidates, due to the different binding mode to enantioselective proteins. We believe that this work can guide medicinal chemists to the best approach in the design of new pyrrolidine compounds with different biological profiles.

The asymmetric intramolecular aza-Michael reaction (IMAMR) is a very convenient strategy for the generation of heterocycles bearing nitrogen-substituted stereocenters. Due to the ubiquitous presence of these skeletons in natural products, the IMAMR has found widespread applications in the total synthesis of alkaloids and biologically relevant compounds. The development of asymmetric versions of the IMAMR are quite recent, most of them reported in this century. The fundamental advances in this field involve the use of organocatalysts. Chiral imidazolidinones, diaryl prolinol derivatives, Cinchone-derived primary amines and quaternary ammonium salts, and BINOL-derived phosphoric acids account for the success of those methodologies. Moreover, the use of N-sulfinyl imines with a dual role, as nitrogen nucleophiles and as chiral auxiliaries, appeared as a versatile mode of performing the asymmetric IMAMR.

A density functional study of the [2 + 2] cycloaddition between methyleneindolinones and enals catalyzed by prolinol derivatives is presented here. The calculations show that dienamines could be generated under acid-free conditions, and the hydroxyl of the catalysts plays a key role in the formation of dienamines. The following cycloaddition process between methyleneindolinones and the new formed dienamines includes two-step intramolecular electron transfers. The stereoselectivity is mainly attributed to the charge distributions on the reaction centers and the H-bonding interaction between the catalysts and methyleneindolinones. The excellent 3,4-regioselectivity is largely ascribed to the fact that the pre-product of 1,2-reactivity is tough to hydrolyze, but could return to the precursor. Besides, the large steric hindrance of catalysts is not conducive to the 3,4-reactivity, while the H-bonding between the catalysts and methyleneindolinones has less effect on the regioselectivity.

A series of Nd-III and Eu-III complexes containing achiral or chiral dithiocarbamato (dtc) ligands, [Ln(Xdtc)(3)(NN)] {Ln = Nd or Eu; X = dimethyl- (Me-2), pyrrolidine- (pyr), or (S)-prolinol- (S-proOH); NN = 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) or 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy)}, were prepared and their crystal structures and spectroscopic properties, in particular the natural circular dichroism (CD) and magnetic circular dichroism (MCD), were investigated. The crystal structures of the complexes analyzed by the X-ray diffraction method showed an 8-coordinate geometry around the Ln III center with comparable structural parameters to one another and to the related complexes reported previously. These complexes exhibited similar spectral patterns in their absorption, natural CD and MCD spectra in solution. Weak but characteristic sharp f-f transition bands were observed in the absorption and MCD spectra, but no CD signals associated with these transitions were observed even in the S-proOHdtc complexes. The MCD spectral pattern of the Eu-III complexes revealed a local C-2v symmetry around the Ln(III) center in solution, in contrast to the aqua and the analogous beta-diketonato Eu-III complexes.

α,α-L-Diaryl prolinol was first introduced into a highly stable porous MOF, UiO-67, via the immobilization of a chiral prolinol side chain into 4,4′-biphenyldicarboxylic acid through a five-step process, to construct a chiral heterogeneous catalyst. The catalyst exhibited high yield (up to 88%) and excellent stereoselectivities (up to >4:1 dr, > 80% ee) for the enantioselective hydration/aldol/oxa-Diels Alder domino reactions, as well as good reusability with recycle use for three times without significant loss of activity. To our knowledge, this is the first report of chiral MOFs as heterogeneous catalysts for asymmetric domino reactions.

Despite intense interest in amine-catalyzed stereoselective reactions, high catalyst loadings of ≥10 mol % are still common and either due to low reactivity or catalyst deactivation. Yet, few deactivation pathways are well understood. Here, we unraveled the deactivation of secondary amines by undesired aldol reaction. Mechanistic studies with peptide and prolinol silyl ether catalysts showed the generality of this so-far underappreciated catalyst deactivation pathway. The insights enabled conjugate addition reactions between aldehydes and nitroolefins on a multigram scale in the absence of solvent—conditions that are attractive as environmentally benign processes—with excellent product yields and stereoselectivities in the presence of as little as 0.1 mol % of a chemoselective peptidic catalyst. © American Chemical Society 2020 ISSN:0022-3263 ISSN:1520-6904

Azanucleosides, the sugar-modified nucleoside analogues, have various biological activities, while their efficient synthetic strategy is still under development. Herein, a novel method for the synthesis of pharmaceutically relevant azanucleosides, β-anomers of ribo-azanucleosides, by means of site-specific anodic C-H activation by using a nitroalkane-lithium perchlorate medium is reported. A mechanistic study of the electrochemical reaction and the armed/disarmed concept from traditional glycochemistry revealed that the 2'-substituent has a significant effect on the reactivity of prolinol derivative, and suitable carboxylic acid additives can control the reactivity of the intermediate species, an iminium cation equivalent. Finally, this method was demonstrated to be applicable for the synthesis of β-anomers of ribo-azanucleosides with all four nucleobases in a stereoselective manner.

The first highly diastereo- and enantioselective synthesis of bridged O, O-acetals embedded with spirooxindoles has been developed. Dioxindoles and 2-hydroxy cinnamaldehydes were employed as the reaction partners in this method. The desired products were obtained via diaryl prolinol TBS ether catalyzed Michael reaction followed by acetal formation with TFA.

An efficient enantioselective total synthesis of pyrrolo-[2,1-c][1,4]benzodiazepine (PBD) monomers (S)-(−)-barmumycin and (S)-(+)-boseongazepine B and collective formal total syntheses of oxoprothracarcin, prothracarcin and (S)-(+)-boseongazepine C are described. The present approach is based on an efficient construction of an ethylidene substituted C-4 pyrrolidine core, that is the stereocontrolled introduction of a trisubstituted double bond through simple enolate α-alkylation of an ester, which also relies on a proline catalysed asymmetric α-amination followed by HWE olefination. The present synthetic route possesses superior stereocontrol over the C-4 ethylidene substituent as well as the C-(S) stereogenic center, which allows more functional variations on the five-membered prolinol core as compared to the existing PBD synthesis.

A 1,1'-bi-2-naphthol (BINOL)-aldehyde-based polymer has been synthesized that exhibits enantioselective fluorescent enhancement toward prolinol. It is found that the polymer shows greatly amplified enantioselectivity over the parent small-molecule sensor under the same conditions. This is attributed to the photoinduced electron transfer processes between the BINOL units in the polymer chain as well as the different steric environment provided by the polymer.

A novel category of di(N,N-dimethylbenzylamine)prolinol silyl ether catalyst, which when used in conjunction with an acidic co-catalyst, generates an ammonium salt supported organocatalyst. This catalytic system is shown to be very effective for the Michael reaction of benzyloxyacetaldehyde and various nitroolefins in isopropanol. Excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99%) and diastereoselectivities (syn/anti of 75:25) and short reaction times were obtained. The presence of the bulky OTMS group combined with the presence of two large N,N-dimethylbenzyl ammonium ion groups accounts for the effectiveness of this catalytic system.

Total synthesis of the proposed structure of baulamycin A was performed. The spectral properties of the synthetic compound differ from those reported for the natural product. On the basis of comprehensive NMR study, we proposed two other possible structures for natural baulamycin A. Total syntheses of these two substances were performed, which enabled assignment of the correct structure of baulamycin A. Key features of the convergent and fully stereocontrolled route include Evans Aldol and Brown allylation reactions to construct the left fragment, a prolinol amide-derived alkylation/desymmetrization to install the methyl-substituted centers in the right fragment, and finally, a Carreira alkynylation to join both fragments. In addition, we have determined the inhibitory activities of novel baulamycin A derivatives against the enzyme SbnE. This SAR study provides useful insight into the design of novel SbnE inhibitors that overcome the drug resistance of pathogens, which cause life-threatening infections.

Prolinol-phosphine chiral ligands enabled highly enantioselective copper-catalyzed intermolecular alkyne-nitrone coupling (Kinugasa reaction) to produce 1,3,4-trisubstituted chiral β-lactams. A high level of enantiocontrol was achieved not only with aryl- or alkenylacetylenes but also with alkylacetylenes, which were important but unfavorable substrates in the previously reported protocols. Two-point hydrogen bonding between the chiral ligand and the nitrone oxyanion consisting of O-H⋅⋅⋅O and C(sp3 )-H⋅⋅⋅O hydrogen bonds is proposed.

The Brønsted acid-catalyzed intramolecular hydroalkoxylation and hydroamination of unactivated alkynes are described. We found that unactivated alkynes are electrophilically activated by a catalytic amount of bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide to undergo intramolecular hydroalkoxylation and hydroamination. In the presence of silane, the formed reactive exo-cyclic enol ether and exo-cyclic enamine intermediates are effectively reduced to the corresponding saturated cyclic ethers and N-protected cyclic amines. The 2,4-cis and 2,5-cis pyrrolidine derivatives are produced with high diastereoselectivity. Taking advantage of this selectivity, the 2,5-cis-disubstituted prolinol was also synthesized from glutamic acid in the optically active form.

The first acid-promoted reaction system to form azaheterocycles from N-carbamate-protected amino alcohols is described. The reaction involves the activation of the hydroxyl group via the use of orthoesters. Despite the reduced nucleophilicity of carbamate nitrogen, this reaction system provides several types of pyrrolidines and piperidines in good to high yields. Using this protocol, prolinol derivatives can also be synthesized from carbamate-protected amino diols with regio- and stereoselectivity.

Azanucleosides, in which the 4'-oxygen atom has been replaced with a nitrogen atom, have drawn much attention owing to their anticancer and antivirus activity, and tolerance towards nucleases. However, the traditional synthetic strategy requires multiple steps and harsh conditions, thereby limiting the structural and functional diversity of the products. Herein we describe the synthesis of azanucleosides by an electrochemical reaction in a lithium perchlorate-nitroethane medium, followed by postmodification at the 4'-N position. N-Acryloyl prolinol derivatives were converted into azanucleosides by anodic activation of the N-α-C-H bond. Moreover, the use of nitroethane instead of nitromethane lowered the oxidation potential of the N-acryloyl prolinols and increased the Faradic yield. The prepared azanucleosides were efficiently functionalized at the 4'-N-acryloyl group with a lipophilic alkanethiol and a fluorescent dye by conjugate addition and olefin cross-metathesis, respectively.

N-Alkylation of 2-azidobenzenesulfonamide with 5-bromopent-1-ene gave an N-pentenyl sulfonamide, which underwent intramolecular aminohydroxylation to give an N-(2-azidoaryl)sulfonyl prolinol, a precursor for the synthesis of a pyrrolobenzothiadiazepine. The attempted N-alkylation of 2-azidobenzamide gave a separable mixture (∼1:1) of a benzotriazinone and a quinazolinone in a 72% combined yield. Other primary alkyl halides (3 examples) gave similar mixtures of benzotriazinones and quinazolinones. Benzylic, allylic, and secondary and tertiary alkyl halides (5 examples) gave only benzotriazinones in moderate yields. The results of mechanistic studies show the likely involvement of nitrene intermediates in the quinazolinone pathway and a second pathway involving a dimethylsulfoxide or dimethylsulfide-mediated conversion of 2-azidobenzamide into benzotriazinones.

A metal-free oxyamination reaction of alkenes with ambient CO2 is reported. In the presence of I2 and DBU, CO2 is applied in situ as a protecting group to regulate the nucleophilicity of the amino group and facilitate the bicyclization of 4-pentenamines with high chemoselectivity. Moreover, this reaction provided a feasible approach to prepare prolinol carbamates with good tolerance of functional groups and high efficiency under mild conditions.

A novel approach for the asymmetric synthesis of (6 R )-4-hydroxy-6-substituted-δ-lactones has been achieved using asymmetric reduction of a prochiral ketone in the presence of ( S )-(−)-diphenyl-prolinol/borane as a key step. The enantiomeric purity of the products was determined by chiral GC.

The total synthesis of dolastatin 16, a macrocyclic depsipeptide first isolated from the sea hare Dolabella auricularia as a potential antineoplastic metabolite by Pettit et al., was achieved in a convergent manner. Dolastatin 16 was reported by Tan to exhibit strong antifouling activity, and thus shows promise for inhibiting the attachment of marine benthic organisms such as Amphibalanus amphitrite to ships and submerged artificial structures. Therefore, dolastatin 16 is a potential compound for a new, environmentally friendly antifouling material to replace banned tributyltin-based antifouling paints. The synthesis of dolastatin 16 involved the use of prolinol to prevent formation of a diketopiperazine composed of l-proline and N-methyl-d-valine during peptide coupling. This strategy for the elongation of peptide chains allowed the efficient and scalable synthesis of one segment, which was subsequently coupled with a second segment and cyclized to form the macrocyclic framework of dolastatin 16. The synthetic dolastatin 16 exhibited potent antifouling activity similar to that of natural dolastatin 16 toward cypris larvae of Amphibalanus amphitrite.

A new analogue of the proline derived organocatalyst ‘pyrrolidine-HOBt’ has been designed and synthesized from l -prolinol and hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBt) employing a simple reaction protocol. The catalyst was found to be effective in promoting the asymmetric Michael addition of cyclohexanone to nitroolefins using water as the reaction medium. The reaction products γ-nitrocarbonyls are obtained in good yields and stereoselectivities.

A series of 3-nitrophenyl and 3-hydroxyphenyl ethers of (S)-N-methylprolinol bearing bulky and lipophilic substituents at phenyl C5 were tested for affinity at α4β2 and α3β4 nAChRs. The two phenyl ethers 5-substituted with 6-hydroxy-1-hexynyl showed high α4β2 affinity and significantly increased α4β2/α3β4 selectivity compared to the respective unsubstituted parent compounds. Within the two series of novel phenyl ethers, we observed parallel shifts in affinity and, furthermore, the increase in α4β2/α3β4 selectivity resulting from the hydroxyalkynyl substitution parallels that reported for the same modification at the 3-pyridyl ether of (S)-N-methylprolinol (A-84543), a well-known potent α4β2 agonist. On the basis of these results, our nitrophenyl and hydroxyphenyl prolinol ethers can be considered bioisosteres of the pyridyl ether A-84543 and lead compounds candidable to analogous optimization processes.